A Single Red Rose
by OMIDragonrider
Summary: Meowth knows his teammates are in love with each other and he's sick of waiting for one of them to do something about it.  Now it's up to him to get them together.  OneShot.  Rated for mild language.


It was just like any other day for Team Rocket. They had come up with an almost completely fool proof plan to steal Pikachu, yet the twerps had managed to beat them again and sent them blasting off. Fortunately, they landed not too far from the Meowth balloon and were able to travel easier. Now it was sunset and the trio was looking for a place to stay for the night.

James sat on the floor of the basket and stared at Jessie as she leaned over the side of the balloon slightly, her chin resting on her hand. The wind was blowing her hair out of its signature style and the cool air gave her cheeks a rosy hue. James thought she had never looked more beautiful.

Jessie turned to her partner and noticed him staring. "What?" she asked.

"N-nothing," James stammered. "Um…did you find a place to stop?"

"If I did, would we still be up here?"

"Sorry."

Meowth looked over to the blue-haired man and suppressed a laugh. He knew how much he loved her and was almost certain that Jessie felt the same way. And quite frankly, he was getting tired of waiting for one of them to actually do something about it. His paw came up to his chin as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "If dey won't do anyting," he thought to himself, "Meowth's gonna have ta…"

A few minutes later, Jessie turned to her teammates. "I see a cabin down there," she said, pointing in the direction of the cabin. It doesn't look like anyone's using it for the time being."

"Then, obviously, we should use it for the time being," James responded as the balloon began its descent.

From the angle the three were looking at, the cabin seemed to be rather large. It looked big enough for at least two or three bedrooms, a kitchen, a den, and maybe four bathrooms.

"It might even have a shower!" Jessie said with glee.

"Or even donuts!" James added with equal enthusiasm.

"Or even a sushi bar!" Meowth jumped in between the two humans, sharing the excitement.

But as they landed, they realized that the cabin was not as large as they thought it was. It had only one floor that contained a kitchen, a den with an empty fireplace and no electricity, a bathroom with no running water, and a single bedroom.

"Yeesh, no wonda dis place wasn't taken!" Meowth said as he looked around.

"I'm guessing that this place doesn't have donuts," James said.

"It doesn't even have electricity! How am I supposed to get my beautiful hair back into that gorgeous style without a hairdryer?" Jessie exclaimed, on the verge of tears.

"I actually think it looks better like this," James said, staring at the strands of red cascading down her back and stopping just below her waist.

"You would say that! You have no clue about style!"

"I do to!"

"Ok! How about instead of bitin' each odda's heads off, we actually get some woik done so we can go ta sleep!" Meowth intervened.

"Meowth's right," James said. "I'll go get firewood."

"I'll go wit Jimmy in case he needs any help," Meowth said, seeing this as an opportunity to speak with James.

James looked at Meowth, perplexed. He never wanted to help him out before.

The two male members were walking through the forest, collecting wood for the fireplace. After a few minutes, Meowth decided it was time to speak up.

"So when do ya plan on tellin' her?" he asked.

"Telling her what?" James asked, confused.

"That ya love her!"

"That I love who?"

"_Jessie!_"

"_WHAT?_"

James looked at the cat Pokémon with a mixture of shock and embarrassment on his face. No matter how much he tried, he could not stop his face from turning a deep shade of red, to which Meowth smirked at.

"Oh come on, Jimmy! I may be a Pokémon, but I'm not stupid!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Meowth chuckled. "Sure ya don't. Now when are ya gonna tell her?"

James sighed in defeat, knowing that the Pokémon was right. He sat down on a nearby stump. "I'm not going to."

"Why da hell not?"

"Because she doesn't love me back!"

"Why do ya think that?"

"You've seen the way she treats me!"

"So? She treats everyone like dat!"

"Which makes me just like everyone else to her. I'm no one special."

Meowth sat next to James on the ground and placed a paw on his knee. "Look, Jim, you and Jessie are really close. Yous got somethin' real special. You _are_ someone special ta her! And she's obviously someone special ta you! If you was just like everyone else, why would she stick wit you? She knows she can ask for a new partna anytime but she didn't. She's stayin' with you. She cares about ya a lot more dan she lets on."

James looked over to the feline next to him. "And how do you know all of this?"

"Like I said, I'm a Pokémon, not stupid," and with that, Meowth rose to his feet and began to walk back to the cabin.

James sat there for a few more minutes, contemplating what his Pokémon companion sad said. Something dawned on him after a while. "Wait! What about helping me with the firewood?"

Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Jessie was brushing her hair back into its usual style when Meowth came in.

"Where's James?" she asked.

"Oh, he, um…he said he cud do it by himself and told me ta come back here," Meowth noticed that the den was almost completely lit up. "Hey, where'd ya find the candles?"

"I found a bunch of them in the closet in the bedroom. Now we can at least see."

It was true. Before the candles were lit, all Meowth could see in the den was the fireplace and a small couch. Now he could see that there was a phone on the wall, which looked like it worked, despite the lack of electricity, a couple of pictures of an elderly couple over the fireplace, and a small chair in the corner. Jessie put the hairbrush down and closed her eyes. Meowth figured that James would be back in a few minutes and that now would be the best time to talk to her.

"Hey Jessie," he said.

She didn't open her eyes. "Hm?"

"What's goin' on wit you an' James?"

She said up and opened her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I dunno. You just seem ta be actin'…different."

"Different?"

"Well yous seem a lot closa than before."

"We've always been really close."

"Yeah, but not like this."

"Well how exactly are we acting then?"

"Well, you kinda seem ta be actin' like a…" Meowth gulped, knowing exactly his red-haired companion was going to react. "couple."

Just as expected, Jessie grabbed him by the scruff of his next and lifted him up so he was eye-level with her, a small blush rising to her cheeks. "Listen here, you mangy feline! James and I are _not_ a couple! I don't care what you think! I do _not_ like James like that and I never will!"

Meowth was dropped and landed with a loud "Oomph!" He knew it wasn't wise to bring up the subject again, but he couldn't hide his smirk. He saw the blush on her face. "Now ta just find a way ta get them ta spit it out!" he thought.

Five minutes later, James stumbled through the door with a large amount of branches in his arms. "I've got the firewood."

Soon everybody was ready for bed. Jessie and James shared the bed as they always did and Meowth slept at the foot. Looking at his teammates, he couldn't help but smile. They looked so peaceful. They did not look like people who went out every day, trying to steal Pokémon from other people. However, now was not the time to be thinking about that- there was work to be done.

Meowth snuck outside and into the balloon. Since it was dark out, it was hard for Meowth to see very well, making it harder for him to find what he was looking for. He had only found it after he tripped over it. "Here we go!" he said to himself as he pulled a box labeled "Motto Props" in front of him. It didn't take very long for Meowth to find what he needed. Clutching it in his hand, he ran back inside and placed it on Jessie's pillow.

"They'll tank me one day," he said to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Jessie woke up and felt something caught in her hair. She fingered through her long curl and pulled out a single red rose. "Why is James's rose in my hair?" she asked herself. She turned over, ready to ask him that same question, but saw that he was gone and already making an attempt to cook breakfast.

Meowth walked in the bedroom and saw Jessie holding a red rose. "Where'd ya get the rose?" he asked, acting like he didn't know.

"I don't know. I woke up and it was in my hair," she responded.

"Well, is it James's rose?"

"Do you know anyone else who carries around a rose everywhere they go?"

Meowth smiled. "Den I guess he finally manned up!"

Jessie looked at the cat, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't cha know what a single red rose even means?"

Before Jessie could answer, Meowth walked out of the room, ready to talk to James. He walked into the kitchen and inhaled deeply. "Hey, what cha cookin'?"

"There wasn't a lot of food in the supplies or in the fridge, so I'm just making some soup," James responded, smiling at the feline.

"It smells great!"

"Thanks!"

"Hey, James."

"Yes, Meowth?"

"You'll neva guess what Jessie found in her hair dis mornin'!"

"What did she find?"

"Your rose!"

James dropped the ladle he was holding with a loud _"clank!"_ and stared at Meowth in shock. "Meowth, please tell me you didn't!"

Meowth only smirked in response.

"Don't you know what a single red rose means?"

"If I didn't would I put it there?"

James turned off the stove and crouched down, his head in his hands. "Now she knows."

Meowth walked up to James. "Actually, I don't tink she knows."

James looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, she acted all confused when I asked her if she knew what it meant."

James practically jumped in the air at hearing this. "I still have dignity!"

Meowth rolled his eyes and mumbled "Not if ya keep doin' that, ya don't."

Just then, Jessie walked in the kitchen and inhaled deeply, just as Meowth did. "It smells great in here! What are you making?"

"Oh, uh…" James stammered, feeling nervous by his beautiful partner's presence. "Just some soup."

"It smells great!"

"Um…Thanks."

"By the way," Jessie held out a red rose to him. "I found this in my hair. Would you care to tell me why?"

"Uh…"

"Meowth's just gonna leave yous alone," And with that, Meowth walked out of the kitchen and quickly hid behind the corner, eavesdropping.

"James, just tell me what it means!" Jessie was beginning to lose her patience.

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because it'll hurt me both physically and emotionally!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT MEANS I LOVE YOU!"

Everything went silent for a few minutes. None of the three had expected those words to come out of James's mouth. Even James hadn't planned on saying that. However, they were out in the open and he knew he had to follow through.

"W-what?" Jessie asked in utter shock.

James took a deep breath. "A single red rose is given to someone you love. It's a traditional way of telling someone you love them for the first time. I put that rose on your pillow because I love you. I've wanted to tell you so many times but I never got the courage. It's alright if you don't love me back. Just please promise we can still be partners."

Jessie didn't say anything for a few seconds.

James stared at the ground, heartbroken. "I'm sorry, Jess-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jessie's lips were on top of his.

Meanwhile, Meowth was watching the whole scene unfold with tears in his eyes. "Ain't dat da most beautiful ting!" he said to himself as he watched the two break apart, smile at each other, and kiss again.

Somehow, he just knew this would happen eventually. And he was glad it was because of him.


End file.
